


Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

by warrior_of_wisdom



Series: Castle Town Coffee Shop [22]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Blood and Injury, Character Death, Emotional Manipulation, Explosions, F/M, Final Battle, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Summaries, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), M/M, Murder, Rescue Missions, holy crap this is it, this is dark af im warning y'all, this one has been beta read!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:28:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28174689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/warrior_of_wisdom/pseuds/warrior_of_wisdom
Summary: After arriving in Lurelin Village, the group finds themselves caught in a battle the like of which they've never seen before. If they can't defeat their enemies once and for all, the world is going to end.It will be long, and hard-fought, but one side will prevail.All they can do is fight, and hope they come out on top.
Relationships: Hyrule & Legend (Linked Universe), Legend & Twilight (Linked Universe), Malon (Legend of Zelda)/Time (Linked Universe), Shadow Link/Vio Link, Sky & Wind (Linked Universe), Time & Twilight (Linked Universe), Warriors & Wind (Linked Universe)
Series: Castle Town Coffee Shop [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883869
Comments: 17
Kudos: 52





	Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

**Author's Note:**

> oh my gosh this is it  
> this is the last chapter (save for the epilogue but that'll come soon). i can't believe that i actually came this far! it's incredible to think that this story is literally the length of a novel. thank you so, so, so much to everyone who followed me throughout this whole thing. my heart goes out to all of you.
> 
> on a side note, please give a huge thank you to my friend kayden! he beta-read this whole thing without knowing a thing about this series, and helped me edit everything so that it looked good (it took us two hours!)!

It was a beautiful day for the end of the world.

The drive to Lurelin was peaceful, to say the least, with the most noise Time had heard being his own thoughts. He felt regretful for leaving everyone behind, but it was for the best. He had to finish this. The Children of Demise would never hurt his family again.

He pulled into the parking lot right outside Palmorae Beach, turning off the car and placing his hands on the steering wheel. It would have been so easy to turn around and drive away, and forget that any of this had ever happened.

But that would be breaking the silent promises he had made to his boys, the words whispered under the cover of night that would never see the light of day because saying anything of the sort would show how truly vulnerable he was. It would be like taking all the memories he had built up over the past two months, all the wonderful times and happy memories, and tearing them into shreds. Any faith that they had left in him would be destroyed, if there even was any in the first place.

The sun shone in his eyes, and he pulled the visor down, blinking rapidly to rid himself of the afterimage. As he blinked, he saw something fall down into his lap.

Time lifted up the objects that had fallen, and he quietly gasped. He had nearly forgotten that he kept pictures of all of the boys with him, and as he looked over the photos (some of the happiest moments they had all shared), he could feel himself shaking. He flipped through the photos for several more minutes, before landing on the very last one.

It was two days after they had rescued Wind, and the whole group had taken a picture. He could see everything in perfect clarity, how Legend was holding Hyrule tightly (the protective glint in his eyes was almost impossible to miss), and how Shadow was leaning against Vio, with Green’s arm wrapped around them both. Twilight and Wild were standing next to each other, arms linked, while Sky was right behind Warrior and Wind. Warrior had his arm wrapped protectively around Wind, and the two were leaning against each other. Behind them all were Time and Malon, hugging each other with a fondness in both of their eyes.

Time stared at the photo for goddess knows how long, only looking away when he saw a droplet of water fall down onto the picture. That was strange; he hadn’t opened the sun roof, and it wasn’t raining.

He looked up to the mirror in the visor, staring into red-rimmed eyes that were filled with tears.

Oh.

He wiped a hand across his face, eyes slightly widening as his sleeve came away wet with tears. He looked back down at the picture, studying how the teardrop had landed right next to his head, on the wall in the background. Time wiped it off, but another one landed right next to it.

It occurred to him that he had cried more in the past three weeks than he had in the past twenty years. He had cried when he learned that Wind was gone, he cried when he got them back, he cried when he talked to Twilight the other night… and before that, the last time he had cried was when his sons were born.

As he contemplated this strange revelation, he realized that he had truly grown attached to all of them. Time didn’t see them as the people he had hired two months ago anymore… when he looked at them, he saw a family,  _ his _ family, a family that had been bruised and battered and nearly torn apart but still stuck together because they needed each other.

Time’s hands shook as he folded the picture and put it in his pocket, begging himself to turn around. He was retired. This wasn’t his job anymore. He had a family, a wife, kids… he didn’t have to do this.

But he knew that wasn’t true.

And as he opened the car door, something in his brain turned off, pushing away all the thoughts of his boys, the children who had their innocence stolen from them too early.

Time Forester stepped out of the car, but the Fierce Deity walked to the beach, and he wasn’t going to stop until Ganondorf was dead.

Even if that meant that he was going down with him.

  
  
  


“We don’t have much time left,” Malon said in a rush, driving at breakneck speeds through the streets of Lurelin. “Someone is going to know we’re coming, once that guard wakes up, and we’ll need to be prepared.”

“Make sure you’re ready for battle,” Sky commanded from his vantage point in the passenger’s seat, “and never let your guard down. If you’re vulnerable for even a  _ second, _ they’ll pounce.”

In the back of the car, Twilight, Wild, Legend, and Hyrule were silent. Everyone else was in Sky’s truck, which was keeping pace with them. Blue was driving.

They arrived at the beach in minutes, with Malon immediately jumping out of the front seat and rushing over to her husband’s car. She let out a wail as she saw that it was empty, letting out a long sigh and squeezing her eyes shut. “He’s already gone.”

Sky walked up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “It’ll be okay,” he whispered. “He’s strong. I promise, he’ll be okay.”

“We need to help him,” Blue said, walking over to them. “We’re gonna have to be careful. Did you debrief everyone else?”

“That’s all we’ve been doing,” Sky said. “To be honest, I don’t think they understand the implications of what’s about to happen. I don’t think they realize that they will die if we don’t win this battle.”

“I’m sad to say that I think that the only one who truly understands the consequences might be Wind,” Blue said. “I was telling them how important this was, and Shadow made a dumb joke, and the kid went off on him. It’s sad, that a fourteen-year old understands more about this than the rest of us.”

“We have to fix this,” Malon said, her voice quiet. “There’s no way the world will survive if we don’t.”

She stood up, her shoulders high, but everyone could see the slight quiver of her lips, how she was struggling to stand tall. “It’s time.”

  
  


The Fierce Deity stepped onto the beach, narrowing his eyes as he saw the gathering of villains. His lip curled up, disgusted by the act. How dare they kidnap innocent children and then gather as if it’s absolutely nothing to them?

_ The Princess, _ the part of him that was still Time supplied.  _ They kidnapped the Princess of Hyrule (and Wind as well), and you’re just standing there? It’s your duty to defeat them. _

The Deity knew this, and he stepped forward, only to be blown backwards by some sort of blast.

He knew something seemed missing, and the Deity cursed both himself and Time as he was forced onto the ground, his face pressed into the sand, which was scratching against the skin of his face.

“I knew you’d show up sometime soon,  _ Time,” _ Ganondorf said, in that low rumbling voice of his, and the Deity barely managed to suppress Time’s shivers. “You always were one for heroics.”

“Let the Princess go,” he said, trying to be concise, “or I will destroy all of you.”

The villain laughed. “Oh, my friend, you are in  _ no _ position to make threats,” he sneered. “Finally, I have my chance for revenge. You will die with the future of Hyrule, practically nothing compared to what will be left of the world when we revive our lord.”

“You won’t get away with this,” the Deity said, controlling his breathing as he built up a wall around his fear. “I won’t let you get away with this.”

“Oh, but you already have,” Ganondorf said, picking him up by the neck and dragging him through the sand. “Your little heroes-in-training don’t have your back this time. You’re going to die alone, with the knowledge that you’ve doomed every last one of them.” He knelt down, whispering straight into his ear. “Especially that little one that you seem to be very fond of.”

The Deity didn’t expect a death threat to be what allowed his host to force through his influence, but against his will, his fist shot up and caught Ganondorf in the jaw. Ganondorf hissed, tightening his grip, and inside his mind, Time cried out in pain.

The Deity briefly apologized, controlling the tremors in his hand that Time’s influence had brought on. He could not lose control again.

He vaguely registered being thrown to the ground, and from the cheers, he could tell that the Children of Demise were celebrating his defeat.  _ How pitiful,  _ he thought, _ that a being such as I could be defeated by a simple explosion. _

The Deity held his head high, refusing to feel shame. He was not going to go out like this. He would fight back.

Something pricked on the edge of his nerves, a sense that something huge was about to happen. He would have described it as a gut feeling, except it was something much larger.

_ “Stop!” _ someone screamed, and the Deity tilted his head, losing all control as soon as he laid eyes on the speaker.

The Fierce Deity looked over, and Time Forester nearly screamed as he saw his boys standing on the horizon.

  
  
  


Malon stood at the front of the group, her heart hammering in her chest as she looked out on the crowd. It was as if the entire beach was silent, with even the caws of seagulls and the crashing of waves seeming to stall with the force of her words.

She stepped forward, eyes glinting with a hatred the mother had never known before. “You have taken far too much from us,” she yelled, putting power and impact behind every one of her words. “And now, we’re going to take everything from you.”

  
  
  


The moment she finished her sentence, the beach exploded with chaos, with the villains rushing towards them and the heroes valiantly rushing back.

Blue held onto Green’s hand, who was keeping a close watch on Vio and Shadow. Legend ran ahead of the group, looking for weaknesses, while Hyrule was only steps behind him. Warrior and Sky were following Wind, who was running around and looking through the crowd of villains. Twilight, Wild, and Malon stuck together, the three of them protecting each other.

Their strength gave Time the courage to force his way up, shoving Ganondorf to the side and grabbing his fallen sword. He quickly retreated, joining his wife and sons on the battlefield.

“Oh, thank Hylia you’re okay,” Malon said, not meeting his gaze as she observed the battlefield. Time wasn’t offended; he knew that there were more important things happening than their reunion, and he looked back at them, hope filling his heart at the courage reflected in their eyes, proving that they were ready to fight.

“I’m so proud of you all,” Time whispered, gathering his boys in his arms and squeezing them tightly. “Though I am a little disappointed in you for following me all the way out here, I wouldn’t have been able to win this without you.”

“Don’t get too excited, Dad,” Twilight said, smirking. “The battle’s not over yet.”

  
  


Warrior grabbed Sky’s arm, and any sensible person could see how badly he was panicking. “How did we lose track of Wind?”

“I don’t know,” Sky said, and Warrior could see the beads of sweat sliding down his face and dripping off his chin. He wiped his brow, looking around the beach and scanning for a glimpse of his blue shirt.

“Where is he?” Warrior’s eyes were wide, darting around the battlefield as he scanned the area.

“I don’t know,” he repeated, looking around. “But we have to be careful, otherwise we might-”

“Attract some more unsavory characters,” a smooth voice said from behind him.

“Yes, exactly, I’m glad you understand-” Sky started, before he recognized the voice. He turned around, eyes narrowing into slits as he glared at the person in front of him.

_ “Ghirahim.” _

As Sky opened his eyes, he looked at the rest of Ghirahim, turning pale as he realized what had just happened.

Ghirahim had one arm wrapped around Wind’s torso, with the other one holding a sword to the younger boy’s neck. The man smiled smugly. “Ah, Skychild. What a pleasure to see you again.”

Wind’s eyes were shut tightly, and Sky could see how badly he was shaking, as Ghirahim held the sword closer to his neck. He let out a soft cry as the blade penetrated the soft skin, and the small crimson streaks traveling down his neck weren’t the only red Sky was seeing.

“Let him go,” he said, every molecule of his being exploding with fury. 

Ghirahim raised an eyebrow, tightening his grip on Wind as he chuckled. “You’re so adorable when you’re mad, did you know that? It’s so funny to watch you squirm.”

Sky just barely held Warrior back, and the younger man’s skin was turning red. He was so angry that Sky didn’t think he was seeing straight.

“We can’t afford to do anything rash,” Sky muttered. “Ghirahim might kill him if we do.”

“We can’t just leave him like that,” Warrior said, his voice shaking and cracking. “Sky…”

“We aren’t going to,” he said back. “I swear on my life, we’re not going to.”

Sky dropped his sword, stepping forward and putting his hands up. “Let him go, Ghirahim.”

The man raised an eyebrow at the surrender, but he sheathed his sword, shoving Wind to the ground. In an instant, he was wrenching Sky’s arms behind his back, forcing him to the ground.

Wind screamed, grabbing the fallen sword and running towards him. “No!” he yelled, hitting Ghirahim with the full force of his body and knocking the villain back. 

He held a hand out to help Sky up, holding the sword out in front of him to deflect Ghirahim’s attacks. The man was on his feet instantly, unleashing a flurry of attacks that Wind could hardly deflect.

“You have to strike!” Sky yelled. “Lives are on the line!”

Wind cried out, waving his sword in a way that showed that he had absolutely no clue what he was doing. In his attacks, he knocked Ghirahim’s block away, and the man’s sword fell to the beach.

His next attack sunk straight into his stomach.

He screamed at the spray of blood, dashing back into Warrior’s arms. He caught Wind easily, hugging his little brother like it was the end of the world.

And it almost was, but they would delay it as long as possible.

Sky crept forward, looking at the gasping Ghirahim. “You all will pay for this,” the fallen villain vowed. “I will hunt you down, even in the afterlife.”

Sky didn’t say a word, unsheathing his sword and driving it through the man’s chest.

As the light left his eyes, Sky looked back at Wind. The young boy’s face was buried in Warrior’s chest, and his skin had gone whiter than a sheet, which was haunting, given his normal tanned skin color. 

Wind looked up, meeting his gaze with his eyes wider than Sky had ever seen. “I just killed someone,” he whispered, his gaze filled with fear and sorrow.

“Oh, Wind,” Sky whispered, pulling him into his arms. “Oh, goddess, Wind…” Even though he had been the one to strike the finishing blow, he still felt his young friend’s pain. Death was a terrible thing.

“I just killed someone,” he cried, shaking in Sky’s arms. “Sky…”

“Don’t worry, honey,” he said. “It’ll be okay, okay? One less horrible person in this world.”

“But I was the one who killed him,” he said, his voice barely louder than a whisper. “What does that make me?”

“A hero, sweetie,” Sky murmured, rubbing his back. “It makes you a hero.”

  
  
  


Legend ran across the battlefield, dodging strikes of swords and arrows flying past his shoulders as he tried to keep track of everything that was going on, brushing his hair out of his eyes. He couldn’t afford to be distracted. 

Hyrule had separated from him some time ago, and as much as it pained him to think, Legend wanted his brother by his side. He regretted fighting with him the previous night, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it as he forced himself out of his thoughts and back into reality.

As soon as he came back to his senses, he was wildly confused, because he had blanked out for a moment and had no clue what was happening.

Every second he spent disoriented was another moment of weakness, another moment he couldn’t afford because what if someone came up behind him while he was distracted, and slit his throat or stabbed him in the chest or choked him to death-

He was forced out of his thoughts again as a pair of arms wrapped tightly around his torso, pinning his arms to his sides and squeezing the life out of him.

“There you are,” a sinister voice whispered, one that had infiltrated Legend’s nightmares for the last week and a half and he tried to scream, because this was his worst nightmare, he was going to disappear and nobody would notice because it was too chaotic-

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Agahnim whispered, his death grip growing even tighter as Legend began to squirm, resisting his capture. “You’re not that easy to find.”

“Let me go,” he gasped, refusing any emotion or thought because he was going to panic, and if he panicked, he was helpless.

“No, that’s not going to work,” he said, right into his ear. “It’s been seventeen years,  _ son. _ I’m not letting you slip through my fingers again, not when I’ve finally got you back.”

“Please,” he cried, feeling tears start to drip down his face as he trembled in fear.

Legend could feel his father tense, his grip loosening the slightest bit, before he moved an arm upwards, lightly brushing away the tears on his cheeks. “No, don’t cry,” Agahnim said softly, caressing his face. “It’ll all be alright soon, okay? Don’t cry.”

It was… so  _ affectionate, _ and it didn’t make sense, and it scared him.

He stood there for a moment, completely slack against his father’s body, trying to process everything that had just happened. It really didn’t make any sense… Why was Agahnim being so nice?

“Good, you’ve finally calmed down,” his father said, and Legend let out a barely audible sigh as he recognized the sharp edge in his voice. “Are you finally going to be reasonable?”

“H-huh?”

“Apologize,” he commanded. “You shouldn’t have resisted.”

Legend stiffened, trying to escape the arms holding him down, because somehow in the past few seconds, he had forgotten who this was. “I’m not going to-”

He cried out in pain as his father dug his fingers into his arms, almost tearing his flesh. “I’m sorry,” he whimpered, tears pricking his eyes again. “Please don’t hurt me.”

He could hear Agahnim humming, and Legend trembled as he said, “Perhaps she did train you well.”

He traced a hand along the side of Legend’s face, chuckling at how his son shied away from the touch. “Enough of that, Legend. It’s time for you to join your real family.”

“I want to go home,” he whispered, beginning to cry again. “Please, I just want to go home.”

“And I’m going to take you home,” Agahnim said, rocking him back and forth. “Stop struggling, or I’ll resort to force.”

Legend’s body went slack, though shakes still wracked his form, and he could feel his legs giving out, with the only thing holding him up being his father’s arms. He closed his eyes, tears dripping down his face, ready to accept his fate.

He was ready to accept his fate, until he heard an ear-shattering scream, one that he had hoped to never hear again.

Hyrule.

Agahnim’s hands instantly left Legend’s body, flying up to his ears in an attempt to block the noise. Legend dropped to the ground, shivers and sobs wracking his body as someone came in and lifted him up. 

After a moment, he felt the soft texture of Warrior’s scarf against the side of his face.

He opened his eyes, and his sight was blurry with tears. He could see Warrior’s features, and feel his best friend holding him close to his chest, and hear Hyrule screaming in the background.

“Don’t you  _ dare _ ever touch my brother again!” he was saying. “Don’t even come near him, you sick excuse for a human being!”

Legend didn’t hear his father’s response, but he tugged on Warrior’s scarf, murmuring, “Put me down.”

“Legend, you’re hurt and you’re scared and I don’t think it’s the best idea for-”

“ _ Put. Me. Down. _ ”

After a moment, Warrior obliged, kneeling down and helping him stand up. Legend pulled his sword out of the scabbard on his back, surprised that Agahnim hadn’t taken it.

“Are you okay?” Warrior asked, clearly concerned.

“...No,” Legend said. “But I’ll be fine.”

He turned around, walking up to Hyrule’s side and placing a hand on his shoulder. His little brother’s facial expressions twisted in shock for a moment, before he let out a small sigh of relief at seeing Legend. “Thank Hylia you’re okay.”

Legend smiled, tightening his grip on his sword. It was hard to see through the blurriness in his eyes, but he had memorized every detail of his brother’s face. He remembered how his eyes would shine when he was smiling, and how he squinted when he was angry, and how his lips curled up just the tiniest bit when he was amused, and the position of every freckle on his face. He knew how the sunlight glinted off of his glasses frames in the mornings and evenings, and off the lenses in the afternoons. He wiped his eyes, taking in his brother’s appearance, and the look of rage on his face floored him. Legend had never seen his brother so angry before.

“At this rate, I think you might be my only  _ real _ family,” he said, loud enough that Agahnim could definitely hear. “And I know you don’t like it, but I’ll do _ anything _ to protect you. Even fight the people who think that they’re my family, because they’re not.”

“You’re delusional,” Agahnim snorted.

“No, I’m not,” Legend said, a faint smile on his face. “I’m just telling the truth. You don’t care about me, you care about what I have to offer you. You care about the idealized version of me that you’ve built up in your head, the one that’s submissive and does whatever you tell him.”

He reached out and took Hyrule’s hand, his smile widening. “Well, guess what, Dad? _ He doesn’t exist.” _

“You’re a disgrace to this family.”

“I know,” Legend said, puffing his chest. “And I’m proud of it.”

Warrior joined the two of them, placing a hand on Legend’s shoulder. “We’ll fight with you,” he said quietly. “You’ve got our support, okay?”

“Thanks,” he said quietly, and he could still feel himself shaking. “We have to win this battle.”

Agahnim snorted. “I find it highly unlikely that you’ll win.”

“It’s three of us against one of you,” Hyrule pointed out.

Legend’s father raised an eyebrow. “Or is it?”

Two other figures emerged from the shadows, flanking Agahnim on either side. They looked like twins, though the one on the left was covered in armor. The one on the right was clearly descended from Agahnim, and she was wearing a smirk that wasn’t unlike his own.

“It’s about time you met your siblings, Legend,” he said, and even beneath the mask, Legend could see his evil grin. To the two people at his sides, he said, “Get your brother and the blonde one. Leave the smaller one to me.”

“Leave my brother alone!” Legend yelled, but his complaints were of no use as his breath was knocked out of him when something went flying into him, and he crashed into the sand, something forcing him down.

“Not much of a warrior, are you?” someone hissed in his ear, and he heard the clanking of metal above him. It must have been the one wearing that huge suit of armor.

...His brother. It was so hard to think of the person  _ literally sitting on top of him _ as a brother. How could someone  _ do _ something like this?

“I’m really not,” Legend said casually. “That’d be my best friend, but if you’d just  _ get off of me, _ the two of us could have a fair fight.”

Instantly, his face was pushed down into the sand, the scratchy substance sticking to his face and messing up his hair. “I’m not in the mood for a fair fight,” he said. “I’d rather follow our father’s orders, instead of being a  _ traitor _ like you.”

“You know, this isn’t the best way to start out a healthy sibling relationship-”

He lifted Legend up by the collar, sand falling off of his body and clothes and forming a small pile at his feet. “I’m not interested in having a ‘healthy sibling relationship’ with a hero,” he sneered. “But for some reason, Father considers you his pride and joy. What have you done to deserve that?”

“Believe me, I’d rather be anything else,” Legend said, rolling his eyes.

He was thrown back down into the sand, with his brother (Holy Hylia that was gonna take some getting used to) placing a foot on his chest. “Don’t you dare insult our father. He’s done great things for all of us.”

“Does ‘great things’ involve gaslighting your children into believing you care about them and then trying to force them to apologize for being scared of them? Last time I checked, that wasn’t in the parenting books.”

“That’s enough, Onox,” Agahnim called. “Bring him over here. I want him to see every last detail of this.”

His brother—Onox, he was going to have to remember that—lifted him up again, forcing him to his knees in Agahnim’s direction. Beside him, Warrior was pushed into the sand, with the woman forcing him into the ground the way Onox had done moments ago.

Legend sucked in a breath, face turning pale at the sight in front of him. Hyrule was on the ground, panting on his hands and knees as he tried to recuperate. His shirt was covered in blood, which was starting to drip down his arms, and he looked back at Legend, desperation in his eyes.

“Hold Legend down,” Agahnim said, a satisfied look on his face. “I don’t want him trying to interfere.”

A realization swept over him, like a cold breeze on a summer day, and Legend tried to run forward, but he was forced to his knees again, almost like a gesture of submission. He tried to fight back, but there was no stopping what was about to happen.

Hyrule was going to die, and Legend could do nothing but sit there and watch.

Agahnim stepped forward, with a sword in his hand. “Just to remind you, you brought this on yourself,” he said, a somewhat sympathetic glint in his eyes, and Legend wanted to murder him.

But he forced those urges down, instead forcing himself to kneel, begging for his brother to be released.

“Please,” he cried, eyes sparkling with tears. “Please, don’t do this. I’ll do whatever you say. Whatever you want me to do. Please, just please don’t hurt him…”

Agahnim cackled. “Oh, it’s so fun to watch you beg,” he said, laughing maniacally. “But you’ve been disobedient, Legend, and you know what happens to children who are disobedient?”

“Please,” he tried one last time, his voice cracking. “Please, please, please.”

A cruel smile graced his father’s features, and he looked over Legend. “I want you to take a good, long look at this,” he said, “and remember for the rest of your life that it was your fault that he died.”

As Legend watched, Hyrule bravely looked up, staring into the eyes of the man who would soon be his murderer. His glasses were crooked, and his hair was caked with sand, but somehow, he kept his composure.

“You’re going to burn in the Dark World someday,” he hissed, “and I’ll be watching from the Sacred Realm, and I will cheer every time I hear you scream. I’ll haunt you for the rest of your life. You’re never going to know another moment of peace.”

“Your threats don’t faze me,” Agahnim said idly, an unimpressed look on his face. “Why would I be afraid of a dead man?”

Hyrule disregarded those statements, looking back towards Legend. Blood was tracing its way down his cheek, making it look like he was crying blood, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. He faintly smiled, tilting his head to the side. “Legend? Smile, just one last time? I want my last memory to be a good one.”

“‘Rule, I…” Legend paused for a moment, every second shattering his heart more. Hyrule looked content, as if he had accepted his death, and the bravery in his eyes was nothing to ignore.

He had grown so much, and now, all of that was for nothing.

Still, Legend could feel his mouth curving into a small smile. He hoped that was enough.

Hyrule smiled back, a tear leaking out of his left eye, and winked. The tear that fell down his face mixed with the trail of crimson, dragging it further down his face. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Legend whispered back, his shoulders going slack as Agahnim stepped forward, sword in hand.

Hyrule looked away from Legend, staring straight back into Agahnim’s eyes. One last act of resistance.

Legend didn’t want to look at it. He couldn’t. It was his fault if his brother died.

But still, it was impossible to look away as his father brought the sword down… missing his mark.

  
  
  


Hyrule gasped, eyes widening as he saw the sword protruding from Legend’s father’s stomach.

Legend’s siblings (it didn’t make sense, Hyrule thought he was the only one) screamed in fury, dashing forward to their father’s body. “What did you do?” the girl screamed.

“I didn’t do anything,” Hyrule retorted, taking this chance to scoot back to Legend and Warrior. Quietly, he said, “Are you two okay?”

Legend was a sobbing mess as he drew Hyrule into his arms, his entire body shaking. “My goddess, ‘Rule…”

“I’m okay,” he said. “It’s just a few surface wounds.”

“That’s not it,” Warrior said, “Hyrule, he almost just watched you  _ die.” _

With that one sentence, all the energy he had felt during these past few moments left him, and he leaned against Legend, shaking. “Holy Hylia, I almost died.”

Legend held him tightly, tears falling down his cheeks and into his hair, and Hyrule couldn’t care less. Staring death in the face was absolutely terrifying.

He had just started to relax and unwind when Warrior tapped him on the shoulder, face pale. “Uh, someone wants to speak to you.”

Hyrule pried himself free from Legend’s grip, turning around and gasping when a sword was pointed at his throat. He gulped, looking up at the wielder of the blade.

It was the strange guy from when they had first fought the Children of Demise, the one with the red-eyed mask.

“Listen here,  _ kid,” _ he said, practically spitting vitriol as he stared down at Hyrule with hatred, “count yourself lucky, because the next time I see you, you’re dead.”

“You killed my father,” Legend whispered quietly.

The man snorted. “He’s going to recover just fine, I’m sorry to say,” he said. “After seventeen years of service, Onox and Veran aren’t just going to let him die, and they’re going to come after you eventually. Don’t drop your guard.”

“You saved my life,” Hyrule said, frowning. “Why?”

He hesitated for a moment, his grip on his sword wavering. Droplets of blood fell off, staining the sand in front of them. “I don’t like people messing with destiny,” he said, “and my destiny is to be the one to kill you, someday. So I don’t like people trying to get in the way.”

There was somewhat of a childish edge in his voice, and a realization hit Hyrule in the face. “You’re still a kid.”

“No, I’m not,” he said, trying to defend himself, but he could tell that it was a lie. As he stepped back, he tripped, and tried to regain his balance. He shook his head, pushing back the dark hat he was wearing.

A single lock of brown, curly hair was revealed, and he looked up in a panic, throwing something on the ground. The air filled with smoke, and the three of them started coughing.

Hyrule heard a voice whisper, “Try to stay alive for a little while longer,” and then a bright flash of light blinded him.

When the smoke cleared, the mysterious figure was gone.

Hyrule stood up, extending a hand to help his brother. “We have to go help everyone else,” he said.

“Wind and Sky are together right now,” Warrior said, “and I’m pretty sure Time, Twilight, Wild, and Malon are sticking together. That leaves the Centaro brothers and Shadow.”

“Let’s split up,” Legend said. “Warrior, go with your brother, and Hyrule, go with Blue and them. I’ll go with Time and Malon.”

They all nodded, splitting up and running off to finish the battle that would determine the fate of Hyrule.

  
  
  


Blue held up his shield, trying to block the incoming gusts of wind. “Where in Din’s name is this coming from?”

“I checked the weather before all of this,” Vio yelled, trying to be heard over the loud wind. “It shouldn’t be this windy! Something has to be interfering.”

“Oh, something’s interfering, alright,” Shadow said darkly, one arm wrapped around Vio’s shoulders to help ground the two of them. “And this is pretty unnatural.”

“What does that even mean?” Green said, his voice quiet in comparison to the rest of them.

“Nobody else is being impacted by this,” he replied. “And I kinda recognize this, but it doesn’t make sense!”

“Just give us an explanation!” Blue yelled. “It doesn’t have to make sense.”

Shadow dug his feet into the sand, shaking his head to shake off some of the sand. “A long time ago, back in the Era of the Hero of the Four Sword, there was a wind sorcerer named Vaati. There’s a member of the Children of Demise named Vaati, and he absolutely  _ hates _ me. I’m not saying anything, but if they’re the reincarnations of Demise, then it makes sense that it would be those same incarnations.”

“You’re kidding,” Blue said. “They’re technically gods,  _ and _ they have supernatural powers? This isn’t even fair!”

“Our lives were never fair, Blue!” Green said, screaming to be heard over the wind. “They aren’t gonna start being fair now!”

“Hey!” they heard someone shout, and Green turned around, seeing Hyrule. The young teen was panting, trying to sprint through the wind. “I thought you guys might need help,” he said, wiping sand off his glasses.

“Well, you were definitely right about that,” Blue grumbled, shifting his stance so that he wouldn’t be blown across the beach as he moved. “Apparently, the Children of Demise have powers now.”

“About that,” Vio said, but his words were lost to the wind and nobody heard what he was going to say.

The winds slowed, and Blue moved in front of the group of teenagers, shielding them just in case anyone attacked. Standing in front of them was a man with the palest skin Blue had ever seen, wearing a lavender tunic. He was wearing a strange hat that he could have  _ sworn _ he had seen before, and the smirk on his face could be described as nothing other than evil.

“Vaati,” Shadow snarled.

The villain pushed his cape over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes. “It’s about time the four of you showed up,” he hissed. “I was tired of waiting to eliminate you.” He took a look over the group, frowning at something. “Where is the red one?”

“Like I’d tell you,” Blue scoffed. “You’re not getting anywhere near him.”

Vaati rolled his eyes, scanning the small team again. “Ah, yes,” he said, grinning when he saw something. “Shadow and Vio, the two biggest thorns I’ve had in my side for years.”

“Good to know I’ve been that annoying,” Shadow said, placing one hand on his hip and using his other arm to keep Vio close to him.

“At this rate, you’re lucky that I’m keeping you alive,” he growled.

“Your logic is flawed,” Vio pointed out. “If we’re that annoying, what’s the point of keeping us alive?”

Vaati’s lips curled up in a slightly terrifying smile. “Once all of this is over, and all of the heroes are dead—save for the two of you, of course—Lord Ganondorf promised that you would belong to  _ me.” _

Shadow’s blood turned cold, and he looked over to Vio, who had a steely expression on his face. “That logic is even more flawed,” he said, “because surely you understand the concept of a hero, right? Our entire existence is made to stop people like you, so what makes you think that we would submit to your will?”

“I don’t have to explain my evil plans to you,” Vaati growled, clearly annoyed. “Goddess, you’re even more annoying than you were thousands of years ago.”

“Good.”

“I thought we were supposed to be fighting here,” Hyrule pointed out. “I’m confused.”

Vaati looked up, acknowledging Hyrule for the first time. “This is not your battle, Hero of Hyrule,” he said, narrowing his eyes.

Hyrule stood up straighter. “Yes, actually, it is,” he said, “because you’re threatening to hurt my friends. And it’s just Hyrule, none of that hero crap.”

“It doesn’t matter, you’ll be dead soon,” Vaati said dismissively, and Hyrule stifled a laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Blue hissed.

“You wouldn’t get it.”

The winds picked up again, and the sand blew into their faces. Green held an arm up to try to stop it from getting into his mouth, but it didn’t help. They couldn’t move anywhere, because the wind was surrounding them.

They were trapped.

Blue grabbed onto Shadow’s arm, who was holding onto Vio for dear life. Hyrule and Green had linked arms, and they both dug their feet into the sand to stay grounded.

There was so much sand flying that they couldn’t see out of their little bubble, and the winds suddenly slowed again, leaving them all unsteady. A barrier of sand enclosed the five of them in a small area, and they could still hear the wind blowing.

Vaati dropped to the ground, holding a rapier and pointing it towards Blue. “Are you done with your cowardice?”

Blue gripped his sword tightly, sweat dripping down his face. “At least I’m not as cowardly as you.” He leapt forward, his sword clashing with Vaati’s as the two men dueled, sand and wind flying around the small bubble.

There was an electric charge of sorts in the air, and Hyrule could feel it in every part of his body. He seemed to be teeming with electricity, and Green pulled his hand away in confusion. “You shocked me!”

But Hyrule’s attention wasn’t on his friend. He was trying to figure out what he could do to help, as his fingers rubbed against each other. He snapped.

Lightning struck, and Hyrule collapsed.

Green gasped, kneeling down and catching him before he hit the ground. Hyrule’s eyes fluttered open, and he let out a groan, saying, “What just happened? I feel like I’m dying.”

He looked over to where Vaati had been just moments before, and the villain was lying on the ground, kneeling as he tried to recuperate.

It wasn’t that hard to put the pieces together.

“Holy Hylia, ‘Rule,” he said, “I think you did that.”

Hyrule’s eyes opened wider, and he looked over, seeing Vaati collapsed on the ground. “I… what?”

“There was lightning, and you snapped your fingers right before it happened,” Green explained. “I… I think you might have caused it.”  
Vio dashed to his side, eyes wide. “Back in the Era of Decline, the hero was said to have the ability to use magic. Hyrule, I think…” He facepalmed. “It should have been obvious. He’s named for the Hero of Hyrule, who was the only one of the Heroes who could use magic.”

Hyrule’s eyes widened. “You’re serious?”

“There’s stuff in the history books,” he said, shaking his head. “This is unbelievable.”

“He should be out for a little while,” Blue said, walking over to join them. “But… how did that happen? I don’t understand.”

“I think it was Hyrule,” Vio said. “Historically, he was able to use magic.”

“Who even uses the word historically?”

“Me.”

“If we’re done here, we need to go help everyone else,” Hyrule said, trying to stand up. He immediately collapsed again, shaking as he tried to pull himself to his feet.

“You’re too unstable to move,” Blue said, trying to lift him up. “We don’t know how you caused that thunder strike, but we can’t risk it happening again. It could hurt one of us, and judging from the way you reacted, you’re probably not capable of doing anything right now.”

“I knew there was still a little bit of magic left,” Hyrule said, “but I didn’t think anyone would be able to wield it. How do I control this? It’s not like I can look it up!”

“We’ll figure that out later,” Blue said, adjusting him so that he was comfortable in his arms. “For now, we need to get you out of here safely.”

  
  
  


_ Clang! _

Twilight ducked between swords and spears, trying his best to make his way over to Wild and Time. His brother and father were holding their ground plenty well, but it wouldn’t hurt to have backup. They were fighting four enemies; they were going to need help.

Malon and Legend were taking care of the other two—Zant and Majora, Time had said. The two of them were vicious, driven by only the fact that they knew people would die if they lost this battle.

He shook his head, leaping into the fray with his sword gleaming in the setting sunlight. Wild and Time were fighting with everything they had, with blood covering the left side of Wild’s tunic and staining Time’s hair. Twilight’s blood turned to ice, and he ran in front of them, raising his shield to block the incoming attack.

“Thanks for finally showing up,” Wild grumbled, slashing his sword and pressing his back against his brother’s. “I think we were about to die.”

“Well, hopefully I can help,” Twilight responded, shaking his head to get hair out of his face. “What’s going on?”

“They can control elements, or something,” Wild said. “I don’t know what’s going on, and Dad doesn’t either.”

Just then, someone else sprinted in, blade twirling and sparkling in the light. Malon joined the three of him, panting. Her red hair was a different shade than it normally was, and Twilight noticed Time flinching.

“We managed to defeat Zant,” she said breathlessly. “Legend promised me that he could handle Majora on his own. Something about being motivated by rage? I don’t know, but he’s very upset right now.”

“Well, we have enough people to split up and take on one each,” Time said. “There’s fire, water, wind, and lightning. Malon, you fight the fire one, Wild will take care of the wind, and I’ll get rid of the lightning one. Twilight, you can-”

“I got the water one,” he assured, twirling his sword. “Let’s split.”

Twilight dashed away from the group before anyone else, dashing for the strange creature with the blue energy surrounding it. He assumed that one was the water, if only because of the blue energy.

It snarled, thrusting its spear towards him, and Twilight just barely dodged in time, sprinting forward and landing a hit on its legs. The creature screeched, swinging back towards him and swinging its arms. He went flying back, creating a trail in the sand.

Twilight quickly regained his composure, rolling to the side just before a spear went flying into the spot he had just been lying in. He stood up quickly, dashing forward and landing another hit on the creature’s arm. Instantly, he could see a difference in how it was fighting. It was now favoring its right side, and Twilight was amazed at how a simple arm injury could have such devastating effects.

A thought occurred to him.  _ What would happen if I got its other arm? _

He ran forward, slinging his sword without any idea what he was doing, just trying to score a hit on the creature’s right arm. All the ways that it was dodging his attacks seemed impossible, but Twilight was determined that he would land a hit soon.

Eventually, it couldn’t hold him back anymore, and Twilight jumped up, slicing into the creature’s right arm. The scream that it let out was enough to make him go deaf, and he heard ringing in his ears as dark, dark blood spilled out of the wound on the monster’s arm.

Something about that wasn’t quite right.

Blue energy surrounded the creature, and it shot…  _ something _ at him. Twilight quickly held his sword up in a block, trying to block whatever was coming towards him.

The chill of the thing that had just hurtled towards him at astounding speeds helped Twilight realize that it was ice, and the creature continued to shoot it at him, the barrage seemingly never ending. After a moment, something occurred to him, and he grinned, grabbing his shield off his back.

He positioned the shield in such a way that when he parried the blocks of ice that came towards him, they would go flying towards the fire monster. The fact that one of the blocks might hit his mother ate away at him, so much so that after about two minutes, he turned back around, sending one of the ice blocks right back at the monster. It went flying back into the cliffs alongside the beach, and Twilight ran forward, raising his sword and swiftly putting an end to it.

He looked back at the battle, seeing Malon fighting against the fire monster. She looked more relieved, and Twilight couldn’t help but think that maybe it was him who helped her out.

As he looked to the side, Twilight caught a glimpse of red hair, and a sword glinting in the sunlight. From the looks of it, Legend was fighting against three enemies, and he was  _ losing. _

Guilt stabbed him in the gut as he ran towards his brother, the fact that Legend could have been dying and he wouldn’t have known sending the feeling of knives being stuck into his back down his spine. His own pride had caused him to ignore the suffering of his friend.

If Legend died because Twilight hadn’t known what was happening, he would never forgive himself.

  
  
  


Legend sank to his knees, trying his best to stay conscious. His vision was shaky, and he was losing a lot of blood, but he had to stay conscious. He had to stay conscious.  _ He had to stay conscious. _

A part of him whispered to just give in.  _ Onox and Veran wouldn’t let you die, _ it whispered.  _ They’d have to deliver you to Agahnim themselves. You’d be okay. _

But then he’d never see Hyrule’s smile, never hear Marin’s laugh, never feel Warrior’s callused hands holding his own as they walked down the street again. Legend wasn’t going to give that up.

He tried to stand, his legs shaky, but he couldn’t muster up the strength as he collapsed, blood leaking out of the wound in his side. He could feel footsteps thundering towards him… Goddess, Agahnim was going to be so angry with him…

_ “Legend!” _

He opened his eyes, looking up and seeing Twilight standing over him, holding a shield. Legend let out a cry of relief, blood and sand sticking to his fingers as he reached out his hand for help.

Twilight lifted him up, pulling his arm over his shoulders and supporting Legend as best as he could. “Are you okay?”

“What do you think, idiot?”

They heard someone scream, and Legend cringed. “That’s Hyrule,” he said worriedly. “What’s going on?”

He didn’t have to wait long for an answer, as Hyrule instantly came to his side, placing a hand on his arm. “What happened to you?” he said frantically.

“Got in a fight,” Legend replied, clutching his chest. “Got stabbed a couple times. How are you?”

“You’re losing so much blood,” he said, panicking as he held a hand to Legend’s side. He could feel the pain growing a bit easier to manage, and he relaxed against Twilight’s side.

“...Legend? The bleeding stopped somehow, I don’t…  _ oh, Hylia.” _

“What? What’s wrong?”

Hyrule bit his lip, looking over at Legend. “Leg, I, uh… I can do magic.”

It took Legend a moment for him to fully process his words. “You can do  _ what?” _

“I don’t really know,” Hyrule said, face growing pale as he seemed to be exerting more energy. “I can do magic, apparently… I beat one of the villains with it. But it took a lot of energy.”

“Get out of here,” Legend said, standing up on his own and crossing his arms. “If you’re out of energy, you might pass out. You look like you’re going to, anyway.”

Hyrule nodded, taking his hand away from Legend’s side. “I don’t know how I’m doing it,” he admitted. “It’s like I saw someone in danger… and knew I had to do something to protect them. It’s really weird.”

“I know,” Legend said, grabbing his sword from where it had fallen and gesturing for him to move. “Now go, somewhere where it’s safe. And I won’t take no for an answer.”

Hyrule sighed, jogging back up to the parking lot. He would have time to rest there, anyways. He needed a break.

With Hyrule gone, Legend and Twilight turned their attention back to the battle that was happening in front of them. In their distraction, Majora had tried to sneak up on them, but Malon, who had beat the fire monster, had fought back, not wanting to let them hurt her boys.

Legend and Twilight ran to her side, and as soon as she noticed they were there, she shooed them away, a glint in her eyes that showed that she was not to be messed with. 

“I have this handled, boys,” she said, the look on her face showing how upset she was. “Go help your friends. Warrior, Wind, and Sky look like they could use some help.”

They nodded, rushing off to help the other three fight.

Malon watched them go, pride welling in her heart at how brave her boys were. They were so strong, and had come so far…

And the people in front of her had tried to end their lives just a few seconds ago.

Malon turned back to them, the sweetest look on her face. “Honey, you just made a big mistake,” she said, her grin taking on a sinister tone.

“Why would we be afraid of a simple human?” Veran laughed, narrowing her eyes. “You don’t stand a chance, Malanya. We were destined to defeat you from the very beginning.”

Malon laughed, amused at how very wrong she had gotten it.

“Oh, honey, clearly you’ve underestimated a mother’s love,” she said, the smile fading from her face as she brandished her sword.

By the time the other three had realized how dangerous she was, the happy look on her face had turned into one of pure anger.

_ “Never come between me and my boys again.” _

  
  
  


Wind held his sword up, barely blocking the hit as he fell into the sand. Warrior was at his side instantly, shoving Malladus away and extending a hand to help him up. Sky dashed around him, dodging a blast of something as the ground behind him turned into rocks.

That was one of the most dangerous parts of this battle, how Bellum kept turning the sand into rocks. If any of them fell, they might bash their heads against the rocks, and that wouldn’t be good.

He stood up quickly, holding his sword tightly as he stuck close to Warrior, whose stamina was quickly weakening as he was having trouble blocking all the hits. Wind turned around, gasping when he saw Legend and Twilight approaching. Quickly, he turned and pulled on Warrior’s sleeve. “We have backup.”

Warrior looked back, visibly relieved as he saw his friends coming. “Thank Hylia for you two,” he said as they arrived. “We’re losing, in case you can’t tell.”

“How can we help?” Twilight asked.

“We need to take out Malladus and Bellum,” Wind explained in a rush, looking back to where Sky was engaged in battle. “You have to avoid Bellum’s blasts; he can turn things to stone. Be careful where you walk, you might slip and hit your head on rocks.”

“We’ll be careful,” Legend said, rushing forward. He and Warrior immediately went for Malladus, leaving Wind and Twilight to join Sky.

The two of them ran over to help their friend, Twilight raising his shield and Wind grabbing some of the fallen rocks. Twilight ran in front of Sky, blocking him from the incoming attacks, and Wind threw the rocks at Bellum.

The rocks hit him in the face, and the villain stumbled back, scratching where the sharp rocks had hit him. With growing horror, Wind realized that the rocks had hit him in the eyes. The idea of intentionally causing harm to people was still new to him. 

Twilight and Sky leapt forward, swords at the ready as they hacked and slashed at Bellum. Wind was only seconds behind them, locked in some sort of trance as he fought. His mind was miles away.

Wind’s thoughts were unfocused, and he hardly noticed when Sky grabbed him and pulled him away until the aftereffects of Bellum’s power hit. He could see dust on his fingers, and he looked to the side, jaw dropping as he saw the slab of stone on the ground. 

“He and Malladus got away before we could… eliminate them,” Sky said softly, wiping the dust off his hands and holding his young friend close to his chest. “But on the plus side, hopefully they won’t be bothering you anymore.”

Wind nodded, burying his face in Sky’s shirt. “I’m scared,” he whispered. “I hate this.”

“I’m so sorry,” he said, his voice choked with grief. “I’m so sorry, Wind.”

  
  
  


At this point, nearly all the villains had either fled or been killed. The only one left was Ganondorf, and when Time caught another glimpse of him, he was leaning against a sleek, black, and square device on the beach. His heart leapt into his throat as he realized what it was.

A bomb that was powerful enough to take out the entire city, and miles and miles of land around it.

_ Oh, no. _

He walked forward, his mind split between himself and the Fierce Deity. Time hardly registered what was happening as he unsheathed his sword, running towards Ganondorf and running the man through.

He felt guilty as he heard Shadow’s scream, but he shoved the guilt down. Shadow had said that he was alright with Ganondorf’s death.

_ But that didn’t mean he should have forced the poor boy to watch it. _

The Deity shook his head, trying to force Time out of the way, but he held onto the last bit of control he had. With the last little bit of strength he was able to muster up, Time forced the Deity out of control, looking down on Ganondorf’s body with grief in his eyes.

It was hard to imagine that they’d been friends, once upon a time. 

“You will regret this,” Ganondorf said, standing on wobbling legs and pulling Time towards him. “My men will hunt you down for the rest of time. You will never be safe again. You have doomed this country.”

“And my heroes will hunt them down until every last one of the Children of Demise is dead,” Time replied coolly. “You’re the one who’s been doomed. Did you know that your only son hates you?”

“You corrupted him,” Ganondorf gasped, slowly losing his grip on reality. “You… you forced him to be a  _ hero. _ You forced him to betray me.”

“They didn’t force me to do anything,” a quiet voice said from behind the two of them, and Shadow walked up. “It was your fault,” he said. “Your fault for forcing me into a position I didn’t want. Your fault for trying to convince me to hurt my soulmate. Your fault for being the best father for so many years, and then flipping it on my head and ruining my life.”

He leaned down, staring right into his father’s eyes. “I hate you,” he hissed. “I hate you for everything you’ve done. Starting a cult, planning to kill me, hurting my soulmate, and trying to destroy my family. I  _ hate _ you.”

“You don’t mean that.”

Shadow stepped back, eyes narrowed into slits. “Two days ago, Time pulled me to the side, asking if it was okay if he killed you,” he said. “If the roles were reversed, you wouldn’t have asked me the same question. He has more compassion and empathy than you and all of the Children of Demise combined. You tried to force me into doing something you wanted without telling me anything. I was hurt, and confused, and begged you to stop so many times but you never listened to me. Just from a few weeks with them, I can tell that if any of us ever had an issue, Time would be there to  _ help. _ All you do is  _ hurt.” _

Ganondorf coughed up blood, some of it landing at Shadow’s feet. “You will regret this for the rest of your life,” he said. “You’re a traitor. The lowest of the low. You don’t deserve to live.”

Shadow smiled. “I don’t need your validation anymore.”

He exchanged a look with Time, the expression on his face telling the father everything he needed to know.

Time nodded.

Shadow unsheathed his sword, and shoved it in his father’s chest.

He was dead within seconds.

  
  
  


The rest of the group ran down to join them, Vio pulling a crying Shadow away from his father’s dead body and into his arms. They were almost all cheering, patting each other on the backs for a battle well fought. 

Time walked towards the bomb, pulling off the panel in the front. Twilight noticed what was happening, and called, “Dad, what are you doing?”

“This battle isn’t over yet,” he said in a bone-chilling tone of voice. The group’s celebration abruptly stopped, and they all looked over at Time.

“What does that mean?” Twilight asked awkwardly.

“This bomb is wired to explode in ten minutes,” he said, staring at the control panel. “There’s no way to stop it, and it’ll take out the entire town.”

“...Oh, no.”

The group went into a panic, trying to figure out what to do about it, and they were so loud that Time almost didn’t hear the crying.

He was alert instantly, listening for the noise. “Wind, Green, Vio, Shadow,” he said, “there’s someone in the ruins. Go investigate.”

The four of them were off in seconds, and it was a minute or so before they got back. “We need help!” Shadow called. “They have the princess in there, tied up and she’s refusing to move!”

Time let out a sigh of relief. “Malon, she might be a bit comforted by your presence.”

She nodded, running with the boys to finally rescue the princess.

It was another minute before they got back, and the timer on the bomb was at seven minutes. It was drawing to a close, and a chill ran down Time’s spine as he realized what had to happen.

“Malon, Sky, Warrior, and Blue,” he said, “take the princess and the younger boys, and get them out of here. Make sure that the people evacuate the town. I don’t want anyone left in Lurelin.”

“What about us?” Legend asked, leaning against Twilight.

“You boys stay here,” Time said. “And Malon, send Hyrule back down here and come back once you’re done. There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

She nodded, herding everyone else up to the parking lot. “We need to evacuate the town, boys,” she said. “Come on.”

Another three minutes passed. There were four minutes left.

Malon and Hyrule came running down the beach, joining Time, Legend, Twilight, and Wild. “What did you need to talk to us about?”

Time sighed. “Sit down, everyone. This is a hard conversation for us all.”

“We don’t have time,” Legend said, but Time shushed him.

Once they were all seated, Time took a deep breath. “Before these last four minutes end, I just want to express how much I love you all.

“In the very beginning of all of this, I was skeptical. I was willing to look past the fact that Legend, Wind, and Blue were also reincarnations of the Hero’s Spirit, if only because the threat had been neutralized. But then Legend’s past home situation came into light, and I realized that my affection for you all ran deeper than it should have, and that you all loved us in the same way.

“Cia’s murder attempt happened, and that rattled me for sure, but I was willing to hope that she wasn’t a member of the Children of Demise. And then Wind was kidnapped, and I realized that I couldn’t just pass this off as coincidence anymore. That week was one of the worst of my life, and I felt horrible letting you and Warrior go out on your own. However, the two of you were perseverant—that’s one quality I’ve always admired about you two. I was forced to tell Wind the truth after we rescued him, and I didn’t want to tell anyone else after seeing how thoroughly crushed he was.

“It was cruel of me to keep this from you, though, and I regret not being transparent from the beginning. You all deserved complete transparency, and this is my final chance of giving you what you need.”

He took a deep breath. “I love all of you, more than I love life itself. Legend and Hyrule, originally we hadn’t planned to keep you. Two of our friends, Sheik and Lullaby, were willing to take you in, but I decided that it would be the best for all of us to keep you close. And over this time, I haven’t regretted that decision once. I only wish that we had the chance to be a real family.”

Time looked back at the bomb. “But that will never come to be,” he said quietly. “I said that I loved you more than life itself, and I would do anything to keep you safe.”

The blood drained from Malon’s face. “No.”

“There’s a boat on the dock,” he said. “I can take the bomb out, and it’ll explode on the sea. Nobody will be hurt.”

“No,” Twilight cried, standing up and rushing forward. He pulled Time into his arms, sobbing into his chest. “No, you can’t do this, Dad,  _ please.” _

Legend was the next to join the group hug, sobbing as Time rocked the two of them back and forth. “Dad… please don’t do this. You’re the only thing we have left.”

Time’s face turned pale, as he realized what Legend had just said. 

“Please,” he cried, his entire body seizing with sobs as he held onto the only man he had ever considered a father.

Hyrule and Wild ran to his side as well, crying and holding onto him tightly. Malon embraced him from behind, crying into his shoulder. “Please, we can find another way,” she said. “This can’t be it.”

Time disconnected himself from all of them, walking over to the bomb. “Two minutes,” he said quietly. “I love you all.”

The five of them were silent. The only one who could speak was Twilight.

“I love you too, Dad.”

With those final words, Time dragged the bomb to the boat, riding into the sunset.

It was such a beautiful way to die.

  
  
  


Malon let out a guttural sob, falling to her knees when she saw the explosion. She gathered the boys in her arms, sobbing as the smoke filled the air.

She could hear people walking on the beach, and as she turned around, the rest of the heroes were there. It dawned on her that it fell on her shoulders to be the leader now.

“T-thank you b-boys so much,” she said, struggling to speak through her sobs. “Unfortunately, our v-victory c-came at the c-cost of…”

Every one of the boys who weren’t present for the explosion looked absolutely stricken with grief, with Wind being the most visibly upset. He screamed, running into Malon’s arms as he sobbed.

She was crying again, not just for the loss of her soulmate, but for the loss of all these children’s innocence, for the lives that they would never get back. She cried for Hyrule and Legend, who never got the chance to truly be kids. She cried for Twilight and Wild, who just had their father torn away from them. She cried for Wind, who had lost everything because of something he hadn’t even done. She cried for all of them, and for everything they had lost.

But most of all, she cried for herself, for the loss of her soulmate, her other half, the love of her life.

_ Time was gone. _

They were all silent for what seemed like ages, staying there in near total silence until the sun had fully set.

It was so dark, and so smoky, that one wouldn’t be able to see a silhouette emerging from the smoke.

Finally, after her eyes were red from crying and all her energy had been expended, Malon stood up, looking back towards the ocean. She would never see it the same way again.

In fact, it already looked different, like someone was walking back towards her… was she hallucinating?

_ No. _

The footsteps rattled the ground, and the pattern was so familiar, but it was  _ impossible, _ there was no way-

The smoke cleared, and Time emerged without a scratch.

Malon  _ screamed. _

She ran towards him, gathering him in a hug, because he was  _ here, _ he was  _ here _ and he was  _ real _ and he was  _ alive _ and-

“How?” she whispered.

Time smiled, a gesture so familiar that Malon couldn’t believe she came so close to never seeing it again. He produced something from his waist, something she hadn’t noticed before.

A mask.

“An old friend gave up his life for mine,” he said. “It was his time to go, anyways. There was peace.”

The Fierce Deity, their guardian, was gone forever.

Malon couldn’t have cared less. 

Just like she did twenty years ago, she threw her arms around her husband, crying because finally the goddesses had done something right.

  
  


“Out of our way!” Sky yelled, trying to trace a path through the huge crowds that had surrounded the entrance to Palmorae Beach. “Everyone, go home!”

There were reporters everywhere, and so many cameras and flashing lights that they felt as if they were going insane. They forced their way back to their cars, dividing into two separate vehicles: Time, Malon, Twilight, Wild, Legend, and Hyrule took Malon’s car, and Sky, Blue, Green, Vio, Shadow, Warrior, and Wind took Sky’s truck. Within minutes, they were back on their way to Castle Town.

After a few hours, Malon looked to the back of the car. All the boys were asleep, which gave her the chance to ask the question she had been waiting to ask for days now.

“Time, I need to talk to you,” she said. “It’s about the boys.”

“What’s going on?”

She took a deep breath, looking back at the boys one last time.

“I want to adopt Legend and Hyrule.”

Time’s eyes widened, and he briefly looked over at her. “You’re serious?”

“The most serious I’ve ever been,” she insisted. “Those boys need a home, and you said you wanted a chance for us to be a real family… we  _ have _ that chance, Time. We have to take it.”

He took a deep breath. “... We’d have to ask Twilight and Wild too, you know. And maybe we could move into a bigger house, with more room for all of us… Wild did say he’d always wanted a pool…”

“Oh my goddess,” Malon whispered. “We’re doing this?”

Time smiled. “Absolutely.”

  
  


The next morning, when the four of them were awake, it was time to ask the question.

They stopped at a diner, ordering the perfect breakfast while trying to maintain anonymity. The Battle of Lurelin, as everyone was calling it, had made all of them famous overnight.

Over pancakes and eggs, they talked about things that were happening. About how excited they were for school, and their soulmates, and Legend’s upcoming show, and things that he might be trying out for in the future.

“This has been a really nice breakfast,” Hyrule said, leaning back against the seat and grinning. He had been eating with plastic utensils, because he accidentally electrified every metal object that he touched.

“It really has,” Malon said, smiling. “What would you boys think if we did this every morning?”

“It would be awesome,” Legend said, and he had a faint smile on his face.

Malon exchanged a look with Time.

“Well, your father and I have been talking recently, and soon, that might become a reality.”

Legend frowned, putting his fork down. “What do you mean?”

Time leaned forward, cocking his head to the side. “With all of your permission, of course…”

“Get to the point, old man,” Twilight joked.

Time smiled. “If all of you are alright with this, we’d like to adopt Legend and Hyrule.”

They all went silent, an expression of shock on every one of their faces.

Finally, Legend spoke. “...You’re serious?”

“One hundred percent,” Malon said. “We want you two to be a part of our family. And we’re willing to do anything, as long as you’re happy and comfortable.”

“Oh my goddess,” he said, silent tears streaming down his cheeks as he buried his face in his hands. “This is real.”

Hyrule gasped, and he was crying as well. “If everyone else is okay…”

“Absolutely,” Twilight and Wild said in unison.

Legend was really crying now, hugging his legs and rocking back and forth. Hyrule rubbed his back, smiling through his own tears. After a moment of processing, Legend returned to sitting in a normal position.

He swallowed, nodding. “Yes, oh my goddesses, yes, yes, yes this is the best thing that’s ever happened to us, thank you so much-” He broke off sobbing again, crying into Hyrule’s shoulder.

The waitress came around, holding the check, and she frowned when she saw the scene. “Is he alright?” she asked.

“I’m okay,” Legend said, his voice cracking. “I’m just really happy.”

  
  


They were back on the road soon, making it back to Castle Town near the end of the day. The rest of the heroes had already made it back, and they were waiting in the apartment above the shop. 

After so much pain and suffering, they all deserved to take a break. Within minutes, they were all in pajamas, cuddling on the couch together and watching movies. Once nearly all the boys had drifted off to sleep, Time looked over at Malon.

Their hands met, curling around each other, and when they looked into each other’s eyes, they saw a light that had never been present before.

They saw a new future, for themselves and their families.

And as they looked down at their real family, the heroes who had so bravely sacrificed everything for them, they had never felt happier.

Their family was finally complete.

**Author's Note:**

> once again, thank you so so so so so much to everyone who read this whole thing! i love y'all so much; thank you for sticking with me throughout these past five months. it's been insane.
> 
> (epilogue chapter should be coming out within the next few days!)


End file.
